UTG LIST: Favorite Halloween Songs

October 3rd, 2013 Nina Corcoran

October is finally here, and UTG couldn’t be more excited for Halloween to show itself.

Under the Gun Review has the difficult task of deciding which movies to include in our 31 Days of Halloween countdown, but now we’ve decided to sling together some of our favorite Halloween songs along the way to make the reveal a little more musical. Prepare for an equal assortment of tricks and treats as our staff shares eerie, spooky, and classic songs you’ll be listening to all month.

Read our staff list below and let us know what your favorite Halloween song is at the end!

I’ve admittedly never been as outright obsessive over The Nightmare Before Christmas as most seem to be but I’ve always loved songs from the soundtrack, and I’ve always loved Powerglove. What better way to enjoy “This Is Halloween” than in the form of a shredtastic power-metal cover? If you say, “Uh, the original?” I’d have to disagree, even if it would seem as though I’m in agreement — that’s just me banging my head to Powerglove. – Brian Lion, Co-owner / Head Of Staff / Editor (Twitter)

“Aquarium” by Camille Saint-Saens. For the longest time I had no idea what this was called or when it was written, but it gets played constantly in films and TV shows. It takes on whatever shape it needs to, flopping between some mystical sorcery to a creepy fog backdrop all thanks to that airy piano part. Its flexibility may be impressive, but the fact that a two minute piano piece is strong enough to hold its ground for over 120 years is even moreso. – Nina Corcoran, News & Feature Writer (Twitter)

Fireworks is one of my favorite bands, and this is probably my favorite song of theirs because it touches on so much of what I love about autumn and specifically the Halloween season – sitting outside with friends and “filling up on Midwestern fall.” It’s also a b-side to their stellar record, Gospel, so it’s a nice treat for anyone who likes the band but has only really listened to the albums. – Troy Sennett, News & Feature Writer (Twitter)

No one loves 30 Rock more than I do, and no one loves doing goofy original songs more than that show’s writers and cast. But while “Muffin Top” and “Rural Juror” will always hold a special place in my heart, it’s Tracy Morgan’s performance of “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” that’s guaranteed to make me laugh every single time. Boys becoming men. Men becoming wolves. Classic. – Em Cass, News & Feature Writer

Before I go to any haunted house attraction, I pump myself up with a little horror and a little bass. I can get my fix for both with Zomboy’s Game Time EP every time. Halloween inspired elements like organs and growls usher in the season with earth trembling drops and heart racing synthesizers. – Jacob Tender, Co-Owner / Managing News Editor / Feature Writer (Twitter)

Everyone has a handful of bands they love that never made it big for one reason or another. For me as a teen, that band was Calibretto. Their unique take on acoustic folk punk inspired me to write dozens of potentially mediocre poems/songs/stories, and no song of theirs impacted me more than “Don’t Go Into The Woods.” This song, in my opinion, should be a absolute must-have track on everyone’s Halloween playlist. It’s catchy and fun, yet pitch black as far as story is concerned, and somehow manages to feel like an entire scary movie condensed into a 5-minute campfire song. I cannot think of a more perfect soundtrack for horror themed nights. – James Shotwell, Founder / Editor (Twitter)

A few years back, a friend of mine gave me a mixtape with Mother, Mother’s “Ghosting” as track 5. The mix wasn’t Halloween themed, but it was given to me in the weeks leading up to the holiday, so my friend thought the track was appropriate. Sometimes in the fall I still play the mix in my car just for this song. – Rebecca Margaret Docter, News & Feature Writer

In 2001, Tech N9ne put an even more psychotic twist on the theme song to the uber-popular film series Halloween by upping the tempo of the music and adding his ferociously fast tongue on top. As if that weren’t eerie enough, Tech decided to rap about some truly crazy females on the track, “Better watch what you do when you sleep with a woman that’s on the edge in your bed ’cause you’ll be resting in red. Killa’ killa.” Tech said it as straight as anyone on this track, there’s nothing scarier than a crazy female. – Matthew Leimkuehler, Music Editor / News & Feature Writer (Twitter)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2OVCvDB5uo

The entirety of Cursive’s operatic 2003 fan-favorite The Ugly Organ is a Halloween necessity, and the nerve-fraying festivities begin with “Some Red-Handed Sleight of Hand” (brushing over the stuff-of-nightmares carnival sounds in “The Ugly Organist”). Though the album isn’t strictly about the holiday, it has the aforementioned carnival of horrors, a harrowing tale of woe, and oodles of sinister sounds that nestle quite nicely among the holiday’s other offerings. Its shuddering steps send tingles down the spine; it lounges in and leaps from shadows, perverse and bizarre, to unnerve listeners. – Tyler Hanan, News & Feature Writer

From their EP Kitsune, Marriages present one of the most consistently eerie pieces of art, most notably the track “Body Of Shade.” The first time I listened to the EP was in early October, and something about the mixing, and the first lines “my body gone forever,” make “Body Of Shade” a hauntingly elevating experience. – Drew Caruso, Reviewer / News & Feature Writer